Coyotes' Shane Doan may have narrowed his focus down to three teams, according to
New York Post's Larry Brooks.
Per Brooks, those teams are New York, Pittsburgh and Vancouver.
Brooks excludes Phoenix, but given the number of times Doan has pushed back his deadline, I think it may be a bit short-sighted to do that. It's clear the length of time Doan spent in Phoenix has a strong hold on him, which is expected, so if by some miracle the ownership situation gets fully resolved and offer is reasonable, I could see him staying there.
If you follow all the internet rumors, New York and Vancouver appear to be the favorites for Doan's services. New York because Doan believes it gives him the best shot to win and Vancouver, because his wife is from British Columbia and family may trump all. Pittsburgh is a close third due to the ability to win and likelihood they will be willing to overpay to get him given the potential cap room following trade of Staal and knowledge that you already extended Crosby.
My question is, and something we have discussed, previously, what would you be willing to give Doan to get him here? Would you be willing to go a fourth year? Would you be willing to pay him between $5-6 million per year for the three or four years cognizant of the fact that he is over 35 and you would be stuck with entire cap hit even if tried to waive him?
Regardless of your decision, keep in mind that the window to win may be the widest for just next few years; and the Rangers still need to re-sign McDonagh, Stepan, Kreider etc. though others, like Gaborik, will come off the books. In addition, as was mentioned, getting Doan keeps him from a rival, like Pittsburgh or Philly, if they jump back due to rumored interest in Bobby Ryan goes nowhere. Plus, and to me these are critical, Doan brings additional leadership, balances out your lineup as it provides another top-six, with Gabby out, and top-nine forward, depending on other configurations when Gabby returns, and physical play that may somewhat be lacking with loss of Dubinsky and Prust.
As jimbro said: getting Shane Doan without having to give up anything in return is too good of an opportunity to waste. However, that has to be balanced by the ultimate cost now and for the future and opportunity cost of the inability to pursue others if Doan's contract proves to be too unwieldy.
In my view, three years at around $5 mil would be fine, if need to go to a fourth and lower the overall cap hit but front-load deal, that's also okay. If talking the kind of money that has been rumored, as painful as it may be, because I think he would be a great fit, the Rangers might need to walk away assuming they are in the driver's seat here, which may not be the case.
Copyright 2012 Hockey Buzz. All rights reserved. The New York Post contributed to this report.
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